Wikipedia describes young adult fiction as fiction written for and marketed to young adults roughly between 14 – 21 years old. It stands apart from youth and adult fiction as it features teenagers as protagonists and often focuses on challenges facing that particular age group. Often young adult fiction focuses on confronting situations and how the teenage protagonists deal with such situations. It is generally believed that reading about these fictional situations allow teenagers to confront their own real-life challenges.
Most librarians can agree that they are losing the teenage demographic and this can often be caused by the belief that libraries aren’t relevant and that the needs of young adults are not being met. This can be turned around by librarians embracing teen culture and creating collections and services that are tailored to what teenagers want.
Having a strong interested in young adult fiction allows librarians to engage with their teenage clientele on their level using a shared dialogue. By showing an interest in teenage fiction, librarians are able to start casual conversations with teenagers, which removes the image of librarians as strong authority figures. Once this two way conversation has begun it can be used to discover what teenagers would like in their library services which in turn allows librarians to tailor their services effectively.
Essentially, an interest in teenage fiction will allow librarians to engage with their young adult clients on a level playing field, which can then strengthen relationships between librarians and teenagers. Plus the librarians will get many great reads in the process!
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